Business

Northrop Grumman to support U.S. Navy on mine hunting integration

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract to support the U.S. Navy’s integration onto an unmanned surface vehicle of the Northrop Grumman-built AQS-24A Side Look Sonar System to look for bottom and volume mines remotely.

The repackaging of the sonar for USV use will build upon the proven capabilities of the AQS-24A. The AQS-24A and its predecessors, the AQS-24 and the AQS-14, all built by Northrop Grumman, are airborne minehunting search systems used by the Navy for the past 28 years. The AQS-24A is a high-speed minehunting system that is primarily towed from the MH-53E helicopter, but has been tested from USVs since 2002 by Northrop Grumman. With a track record of reliability and performance across the globe, the system’s high-resolution side-scan sonar detects, localizes and classifies both bottom and moored mines in real time at high area coverage rates.

“This is a great step forward for those who have been involved in USVs and minehunting for as many years as the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and Northrop Grumman,” said Tom Jones, vice president of Northrop Grumman’s Undersea Systems business unit. “The results of this effort could apply to future USV programs, both in the U.S. Navy as well as the navies of potential coalition partners such as Australia.”

In cooperation with the Navy and industry partners, Northrop Grumman has operated USVs in various tests and fleet exercises that range from remote control to autonomous operations. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Fla., NSWC Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Md., NSWC Combatant Craft Division in Norfolk, Va., and Northrop Grumman jointly developed an 11-meter USV that launched, recovered and towed the AQS-24A.

Local military discounts

Lockheed Martin photograph A protective panel for Orion’s service module is jettisoned during testing at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California facility. This test series evaluated design changes to the spacecraft’s fair...

Northrop Grumman has awarded the first Australian supplier contract for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system initial production lot to Ferra Engineering. Brisbane-based Ferra Engineering will manufacture mechanical sub-assemblies for the first four Triton air vehicles including structural components. “At Northrop Grumman it’s very important to not only develop...

Under the terms of its latest contract, Insitu will build six RQ-21A Blackjack systems for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The $78-million Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Lot IV Low Rate Initial Production contract is the latest event in the program’s progression toward the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation phase. “This award will...

The world’s largest ground-based solar telescope is one step closer to operation with the acceptance of the deformable mirror engineered by AOA Xinetics, a Northrop Grumman company. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, currently under construction on Haleakala on the island of Maui, Hawaii, will offer unprecedented high-resolution images of the sun using the latest...

Raytheon Chairman and CEO Thomas A. Kennedy announced July 30 the appointment of Wesley D. Kremer as President, Integrated Defense Systems, effective immediately. Kremer, 50, previously served as vice president of the Air and Missile Defense Systems product line of Raytheon Missile Systems. He succeeds Daniel J. Crowley, who informed the company of his intention...

Information

Publisher

Aerotech News and Review is published every Friday serving the aerospace and defense industry of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. News and ad copy deadline is noon on the Tuesday prior to publication. The publisher assumes no responsibility for error in ads other than space used.

Disclaimer

The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, or Aerotech News and Review, Inc., of the products or services advertised.